[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 200 (Wednesday, October 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71824-71825]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-23004]



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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

International Trade Administration

[A-570-919]


Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide From the People's Republic of 
China: Preliminary Results of Antidumping Duty Administrative Review; 
2021-2022

AGENCY: Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade Administration, 
Department of Commerce.

SUMMARY: In response to requests from interested parties, the U.S. 
Department of Commerce (Commerce) is conducting an administrative 
review of the antidumping duty (AD) order on electrolytic manganese 
dioxide (EMD) from the People's Republic of China (China) covering the 
period of review (POR) October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2022. 
Commerce preliminarily determines that Duracell (China) Limited (DCL), 
an exporter of EMD from China and the sole mandatory respondent, is not 
eligible for a separate rate and is part of the China-wide entity. 
Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary results.

DATES: Applicable October 18, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Krisha Hill or Luke Caruso, AD/CVD 
Operations, Office IV, Enforcement and Compliance, International Trade 
Administration, Department of Commerce, 1401 Constitution Avenue NW, 
Washington, DC 20230; telephone: (202) 482-4037 or (202) 482-2081, 
respectively.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    On October 3, 2022, Commerce published in the Federal Register a 
notice of opportunity to request an administrative review of the AD 
order on EMD from China.\1\ On October 31, 2022, DCL requested a review 
of itself; no other parties requested an administrative review.\2\ 
After receiving the review request,\3\ Commerce published the notice of 
initiation of this administrative review on December 5, 2022.\4\ On 
December 8, 2022, we issued the initial questionnaire to DCL.\5\ On 
June 30, 2023, DCL announced the withdrawal of its entry of appearance 
(EOA) and administrative protective order (APO) application.\6\ On July 
3, 2023, Commerce requested clarification from DCL on whether DCL's 
withdrawal of its EOA and APO application reflected its intent to cease 
participating in this review, which DCL confirmed affirmatively on the 
same day.\7\ On August 15, 2023, Borman Specialty Materials and 
Vibrantz Specialty Products LLC (the petitioners) submitted pre-
preliminary comments.\8\
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    \1\ See Antidumping or Countervailing Duty Order, Finding, or 
Suspended Investigation; Opportunity To Request Administrative 
Review and Join Annual Inquiry Service List, 87 FR 59775 (October 3, 
2022).
    \2\ See DCL's Letter, ``Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide from the 
People's Republic of China: Request for Administrative Review,'' 
dated October 31, 2022.
    \3\ Id.
    \4\ See Initiation of Antidumping and Countervailing Duty 
Administrative Reviews, 87 FR 74404 (December 5, 2022) (Initiation 
Notice).
    \5\ See Commerce's Letter, ``Administrative Review of the 
Antidumping Duty Order on Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD) from 
the People's Republic of China (China): Request for Information,'' 
dated December 8, 2022.
    \6\ See DCL's Letter, ``Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide from the 
People's Republic of China: Withdrawal of DCL's Entry of Appearance 
and APO Application,'' dated June 30, 2023.
    \7\ See Memorandum, ``Voicemail Messages,'' dated July 7, 2023.
    \8\ See Petitioners' Letter, ``Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide 
from the People's Republic of China: Borman's and Vibrantz's 
Comments in Advance of Commerce's Preliminary Results,'' dated 
August 15, 2023.
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Scope of the Order 9
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    \9\ See Antidumping Duty Order: Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide 
From the People's Republic of China, 73 FR 58537 (October 7, 2008) 
(Order).
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    The merchandise covered by the Order includes all manganese dioxide 
(MnO2) that has been manufactured in an electrolysis process, whether 
in powder, chip, or plate form. Excluded from the scope are natural 
manganese dioxide (NMD) and chemical manganese dioxide (CMD). The 
merchandise subject to the Order is classified in the Harmonized Tariff 
Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) at subheading 2820.10.00.00. 
While the HTSUS subheading is provided for convenience and customs 
purposes, the written description of the scope of the Order is 
dispositive.

Methodology

    Commerce is conducting this review in accordance with section 
751(a)(1)(B) of the Tariff Act of 1930, as amended (the Act), and 19 
CFR 351.213.

Separate Rate

    In the Initiation Notice, we informed parties that all firms for 
which a non-market economy review was initiated that wished to qualify 
for separate rate status must complete, as appropriate, either a 
separate rate application or a separate rate certification.\10\ We also 
informed parties that firms that submitted a separate rate application 
or a separate rate certification that are subsequently selected as 
mandatory respondents, would not be eligible for separate rate status 
unless they responded to all parts of the AD questionnaire that 
Commerce issued to them as mandatory respondents.\11\ After DCL 
submitted a separate rate application,\12\ Commerce selected DCL as the 
sole mandatory respondent in this review. DCL's announcement that it 
was no longer participating in the review prevented Commerce from 
requesting additional information regarding its separate rate 
application.\13\ Furthermore, DCL did not respond to Commerce's 
supplemental questionnaire.\14\ Consistent with Commerce's practice in 
such situations, as described in the Initiation Notice, and because DCL 
ceased responding to Commerce's request for information, Commerce has 
preliminarily determined that DCL did not establish its eligibility for 
separate rate status and is part of the China-wide entity.
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    \10\ See Initiation Notice, 87 FR at 74405-74406.
    \11\ Id.
    \12\ See DCL's Letter, ``Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide From the 
People's Republic of China: DCL's Separate Rate Application,'' dated 
February 22, 2023.
    \13\ See Memorandum, ``Voicemail Messages,'' dated July 7, 2023.
    \14\ See Commerce's Letter, ``2021-2022 Administrative Review of 
the Antidumping Duty Order on Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD) 
from the People's Republic of China (China): Section A Supplemental 
Questionnaire,'' dated June 29, 2023.
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    Commerce's policy regarding conditional review of the China-wide 
entity applies to this administrative review.\15\ Under this policy, 
the China-wide entity will not be under review unless a party 
specifically requests, or Commerce self-initiates, a review of the 
entity. Because no party requested a review of the China-wide entity, 
the entity is not under review and the weighted-average dumping margin 
assigned to the China-wide entity is not subject to change as a result 
of this review.
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    \15\ See Antidumping Proceedings: Announcement of Change in 
Department Practice for Respondent Selection in Antidumping Duty 
Proceedings and Conditional Review of the Nonmarket Economy Entity 
in NME Antidumping Duty Proceedings, 78 FR 65963 (November 4, 2013).
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Disclosure and Public Comment

    Normally, Commerce will disclose the calculations performed in 
connection with the preliminary results of review to parties to the 
proceeding in accordance with 19 CFR 351.224(b). However, as there were 
no preliminary margin calculations performed in the instant review, 
there are no calculations to disclose. This satisfies our regulatory 
obligation. Additionally, we note that, given that the analysis 
underlying

[[Page 71825]]

Commerce's preliminary decisions is contained herein, no decision 
memorandum accompanies this Federal Register notice.
    Interested parties are invited to comment on these preliminary 
results of review. Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.309(c)(1)(ii), interested 
parties may submit case briefs and rebuttal briefs no later than 30 
days after the date of publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register. Parties who submit case briefs or rebuttal briefs in this 
proceeding are encouraged to submit with each argument: (1) a statement 
of the issue; (2) a brief summary of the argument; and (3) a table of 
authorities. A table of contents, list of authorities used, and an 
executive summary of issues should accompany any brief submitted to 
Commerce. Rebuttal briefs, limited to issues raised in the case briefs, 
may be filed no later than seven days after the case briefs are 
filed.\16\
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    \16\ See 19 CFR 351.309(d); Temporary Rule Modifying AD/CVD 
Service Requirements Due to COVID-19; Extension of Effective Period, 
85 FR 41363 (July 10, 2020) (Temporary Rule).
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    Pursuant to 19 CFR 351.310(c), interested parties who wish to 
request a hearing must submit a written request to the Assistant 
Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance within 30 days of the date of 
publication of this notice. Requests should contain: (1) the party's 
name, address, and telephone number; (2) the number of participants and 
whether any of those individuals is a foreign national; and (3) a list 
of issues parties intend to discuss. Oral arguments at the hearing will 
be limited to issues raised in the case and rebuttal briefs.\17\ If a 
request for a hearing is made, Commerce intends to hold the hearing at 
a date and time to be determined.\18\ Parties should confirm by 
telephone the date, time, and location of the hearing two days before 
the scheduled date.
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    \17\ See 19 CFR 351.310(c).
    \18\ See 19 CFR 351.310(d).
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    All submissions to Commerce, with limited exceptions, must be filed 
electronically using Enforcement and Compliance's Antidumping and 
Countervailing Duty Centralized Electronic Service System (ACCESS) \19\ 
and must also be served on interested parties.\20\ An electronically 
filed document must be received successfully in its entirety by ACCESS, 
by 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on the date that the document is due. 
Note that Commerce has temporarily modified certain of its requirements 
for serving documents containing business proprietary information, 
until further notice.\21\
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    \19\ See 19 CFR 351.303(b)(2)(i).
    \20\ See 19 CFR 351.303(f).
    \21\ See Temporary Rule.
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Final Results of Review

    Unless otherwise extended, Commerce intends to issue the final 
results of this review no later than 120 days after the date these 
preliminary results of review are published in the Federal Register, 
pursuant to section 751(a)(3)(A) of the Act.

Assessment Rates

    Upon issuance of the final results of this review, Commerce will 
determine, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shall assess, 
antidumping duties on all appropriate entries covered by this 
review.\22\ If we do not alter these preliminary results of review, we 
intend to instruct CBP to liquidate entries of subject merchandise 
exported by DCL at the China-wide rate (i.e., 149.92 percent).\23\
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    \22\ See 19 CFR 351.212(b)(1).
    \23\ See Order, 73 FR at 58538.
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    Commerce intends to issue assessment instructions regarding DCL to 
CBP 35 days after the publication date of the final results of this 
review in the Federal Register. If a timely summons is filed at the 
U.S. Court of International Trade, the assessment instructions will 
direct CBP not to liquidate relevant entries until the time for parties 
to file a request for a statutory injunction has expired (i.e., within 
90 days of publication).

Cash Deposit Requirements

    The following cash deposit requirements will be effective upon 
publication of the final results of this administrative review for 
shipments of the subject merchandise from China entered, or withdrawn 
from warehouse, for consumption on or after the publication date, as 
provided by section 751(a)(2)(C) of the Act: (1) for previously 
investigated or reviewed Chinese and non-Chinese exporters not listed 
above that have separate rates, the cash deposit rate will continue to 
be the existing exporter-specific cash deposit rate; (2) for all 
Chinese exporters of subject merchandise that have not been found to be 
entitled to a separate rate, including DCL, the cash deposit rate will 
be the rate for the China-wide entity, which is 149.92 percent; and (3) 
for all non-Chinese exporters of subject merchandise, which have not 
received their own separate rate, the cash deposit rate will be the 
rate applicable to the Chinese exporter(s) that supplied that non-
Chinese exporter. These cash deposit requirements, when imposed, shall 
remain in effect until further notice.

Notification to Importers

    This notice also serves as a preliminary reminder to importers of 
their responsibility under 19 CFR 351.402(f)(2) to file a certificate 
regarding the reimbursement of antidumping duties prior to liquidation 
of the relevant entries during this POR. Failure to comply with this 
requirement could result in Commerce's presumption that reimbursement 
of antidumping duties occurred and the subsequent assessment of double 
antidumping duties.

Notification to Interested Parties

    This administrative review and notice are issued and published in 
accordance with sections 751(a)(1) and 777(i)(1) of the Act, 19 CFR 
351.213, and 19 CFR 351.221(b)(4).

    Dated: October 12, 2023.
Lisa W. Wang,
Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Compliance.
[FR Doc. 2023-23004 Filed 10-17-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-DS-P